Case studies

What changes when a store stops renting its traffic.

Three dealerships with three different starting points: a single rooftop with an outdated blog, a store paying for every session, and a 16-rooftop group bringing content back in-house.

Speedway Subaru

Indianapolis, Indiana · 206 days

A franchise Subaru store serving Central Indiana had ten target markets, OEM boilerplate pages, and an inconsistent blog. It needed to answer shoppers' research questions at scale without adding headcount.

+247%

Search impressions

2.13M → 7.40M

#7.8

Average position

up from #16.5

64,492

Organic clicks

post-onboarding

212

Articles published

over 206 days

The challenge

National publishers and regional competitors were answering which Subaru, which trim, and where to buy. Publishing was inconsistent and the marketing team had limited bandwidth across ten markets.

What Hrizn did

212 structured articles in 206 days (26.5 per month)
177 core Subaru capability, trim, and feature pieces
30 comparisons against Honda, Toyota, and Tesla
159 research graphs, 67 keyword gaps flagged

The result

The store moved from page two onto page one. Monthly impressions climbed from 231,460 in January to a peak of 1,335,034 in May. Branded searches for "speedway subaru" rank at position 1.3, and the future-model query "2027 subaru ascent" ranks 4.6.

"We did not wait for a perfect launch window. We just had to execute."

Joe Zumpella, Marketing & Technology Director, Speedway Automotive

Tri State Ford

East Liverpool, Ohio · First 90 days

A single-rooftop store spent a quarter of its sessions on paid search, with a blog that hadn't been updated in years. Shoppers were asking specific questions — which truck suits my job, how much can an F-150 tow around the Ohio River — and the answers weren't on its own domain.

+191.7%

Organic sessions

2,253 → 6,573

+109.5%

Engaged sessions

2,534 → 5,309

−96.3%

Paid search sessions

1,253 → 47

69.8%

Organic share

up from 45.6%

The challenge

25.4% of sessions came from paid search. The site had thin coverage of F-150 towing and trim research, fixed-ops questions, financing, recalls, and local shopping intent.

What Hrizn did

195 pieces in the first 90 days (about 2 per day)
119 articles, 24 expert insights, 19 Q&A interviews
16 model-research pages, 15 comparisons, 2 event pages
All published on the dealership's own blog

The result

On day 45 the store cancelled paid search and kept growing. The F-150 trim guide became the #1 non-homepage destination, ahead of the inventory search pages. 123 blog pages were driving traffic by the end of the window.

"The value is building a library of answers."

Kyle Buxman, General Manager, Tri State Ford

Modern Automotive Group

Winston-Salem, North Carolina · April–October 2025

A 16-rooftop group founded in 1933 was not failing — its previous vendor delivered acceptable results. The goal was bringing SEO and content fully in-house, so the institutional knowledge stayed with the dealer instead of leaving with the agency.

600+

Pieces published

across the portfolio

~270K

Organic sessions

portfolio total

15 of 16

Stores improved

in search events YoY

#10.9

Avg position

Chevrolet Burlington, from #37.9

The challenge

One person could not publish enough to cover 16 markets, outside teams did not grasp local differences — Nissan shoppers in Hickory versus Hyundai buyers in Concord — and switching vendors meant losing the institutional knowledge.

What Hrizn did

600+ articles, model research pages, comparisons, and service guides
Content prioritized from real search demand in IdeaCloud
Brand Voice governance applied across every rooftop
Live at five rooftops in April 2025, the remaining eleven in May

The result

Every store moved from pages three and four into page one within the first months. Five stores more than doubled search events year over year, and the best performer saw roughly 12x impression growth. Model research pages became primary destinations across the portfolio.

"Modern Automotive did not need a rescue. They needed acceleration."

Gary LaDue, Director of Marketing, Modern Automotive

Case studies published by Hrizn. Speedway Subaru figures are site-level for speedwaysubaru.com over January–August 2026. Tri State Ford compares two 42-day GA4 windows (Mar 13–Apr 23 vs Apr 24–Jun 4, 2026). Modern Automotive figures are portfolio-level over April–October 2025, with store-level growth measured year over year. None of the three is a controlled test, and none accounts for seasonality or other concurrent changes.

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